1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fluorometers, and more particularly to a system and method for performing automated fluorescent measurements.
2. Related Art
Conventional medical devices used to perform fluorescent readings are large, dedicated machines. Typical fluorometers are bench-top devices which are not easily transported from location to location. Additionally, conventional fluorometers are not easily capable of being programmed by the user or otherwise configured by the user to perform a plurality of different types of tests. Instead, the conventional fluorometer is factory-programmed to perform a predefined test protocol.
To perform a test using a conventional fluorometer, a laboratory technician obtains a sample. The sample can be a biological fluid, such as blood, serum, plasma, urine, a fecal extract and the like or it can be an environmental sample, such as water, a ground extract, a chemical and the like or it can be an extract of a food product. In the case of a blood sample, the blood is first separated into plasma or serum, which becomes the sample, and cellular fractions using a centrifuge. The sample is then generally deposited into a small test tube that is inserted into the fluorometer. Because the conventional fluorometer can accept several samples, the technician enters an identification of the sample and the location of the test tube into the fluorometer.
Once one or more test tubes containing samples are positioned in the fluorometer, the test begins. Contemporary fluorometers use robotics to pipet the sample and the reagents and to position one or more optical sensors by the sample to obtain the necessary readings. The readings are recorded along with the associated test-tube location designations. The location designation is used to identify the sample.